Mike Finnigan -- "Just One Minute More" (1978)

What Boz Scaggs had wrought.

When Silk Degrees became a multi-million selling album in 1976, he basically busted open the door for blue-eyed soul like never before. Suddenly, it totally cool for white guys to sing soul music blatantly in the style of Motown, Philly and Stax. Of course, the guys who really took that concept to the bank were Daryl Hall and John Oates, right through most of the 80s.

But let's go back to the Silk Degrees era. In 1977, English guitarist Dave Mason had the biggest selling album of his career when Columbia Records paired him with producer Ron Nevison for a slickly-produced collection of catchy rock tunes. Mason's band was a collection of immensely talented musicians and composers. The single that drove it through the roof, "We Just Disagree," was written by his guitarist Jim Krueger. Also in the band was keyboardist Mike Finnigan, who had already played on Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland and other classic rock records.

Mason's album Let It Flow sold tons, so all of a sudden those talented guys in his band had solo albums released on Columbia, who probably thought they could duplicate that success. While we will discuss Krueger's impressive Sweet Salvation another time, Finnigan released what was actually his second album under his own name, called Black and White.

Not a subtle reference, Black and White was like the Boz Scaggs album that Boz never did. Also produced by Nevison, Finnigan sounds remarkably like Mr. Scaggs' deep voice, powerful and emotional all at once. Other than covering Krueger's straightforward rock ballad, "The Words," every song is right out of the Philly and Chicago soul playbook, and it seems they were all written by, yes, white guys! One exception -- his completely fitting cover of The Soul Survivors' "Expressway To Your Heart."

Finnigan's keyboards are right up front, either with a B3 organ or piano, sometimes very gospel-ish, or downright bluesy. And this guy could sing. The obvious single was the unforgettable lead-off tune from the album, "Just One Minute More," co-written by music legend Al Kooper. All slick guitars, orchestration, Finnigan's insanely pleading vocals ("He wants you for decoration/But I need you just to live!"), and thumpety drums. It's just one of those songs you can't get out of your head, right out of another era.

These days, Finnigan is touring all over the world, welcomes just about anybody to friend him on Facebook (over 4,600 of them as of this writing), and contributes to the political blog Crooks & Liars in pretty much the same way he performs -- no holding back. If you want to hear true songcraft style and singing, well, let's go to the video... (and if you'd like the song, you can download the album from Mike himself)...

Graham Parker and The Rumour -- "Mercury Poisoning" (1979)

Part of the three great angry English men who burst out of the music scene in the late 70's (the other two were Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson), Graham Parker earned his chops on the famous pub rock circuit, which gave us Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Brinsley Schwarz and much of the late Stiff label roster.

While Costello drew from early 60's rock and Jackson rocketed across short, sharp songs, the always-in-aviator-shades Parker was heavily influenced by Motown and other soul music genres which he wore on his sleeve. He infused his rock periodically with Funk Brothers licks and reggae beats ("Don't Ask Me Questions"). With his mates, Parker played as a true band and their recordings were full of energy, a totally live vibe, and often with his own four-piece horn section.

In the first years of his recording career on the Mercury label, Parker cut cover versions of soul classics like a stomping "Hold Back The Night" (by the Trammps), that had the twin guitar attack Thin Lizzy made famous, and The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back," which stays true to the original, as much as nobody sounds like Michael and his brothers!

However, unlike those R&B songs he clearly loved, Parker was full of rage and agony. His lyrics showed a man who didn't believe in compromises in love and friendship, yet often felt betrayed. He didn't suffer fools, and wasn't afraid of sharpening that poison pen in his lyrics. He always had a penchant for two things: somehow bringing in the weather in his lyrics (often raining, with thunderstorms) and making his chorus the entire title of his song ("Passion Is No Ordinary Word," "Discovering Japan," "Stick To Me"). Parker's tunes were anthemic and bluntly confessional sometimes ("Fool's Gold" and "Pouring It All Out"). My friend John's college floor hockey team was named after Parker's "Heat Treatment" and blasted it before each game.

Savvy artists covered his songs, notably his buddy Dave Edmunds ("Back To Schooldays" and "Crawling From The Wreckage") and what I consider to be the definitive version of his song "Thunder and Rain," performed on a long out-of-print album on CBS by singer/actress Ellen Foley (definitely the subject of a future post -- she belted the female date role in Meat Loaf's famous "Paradise By The Dashboard Light").

Parker wanted to break the US market in the worst way, and deservedly so considering his talent. Watching his buddy and former producer Nick Lowe climb on to US radio with "So It Goes" and "Cruel To Be Kind" didn't sit well with him. Finally, after he released a three-sided live album The Parkerilla to fulfill his contract (yes, in the vinyl days, you could do this!), Parker moved to Arista Records.

His first post-Arista signing recording was a bootleg single aimed right at the record company who he felt failed to promote him properly. Usually wrath is incurred towards ex-girlfriends and other creeps, but Parker packed all the venom he could to blast Mercury Records, which truly marked the end of his "pub rock and soul era." A collector's item (which I have somewhere in a box in my basement), the one-sided "Mercury Poisoning" single had a skull and crossbones on the label. And yes, this is probably the catchiest singalong record label blow-off you'll ever hear.


No more pretending now,
the albatross is dying in its nest.
The company is crippling me,
the worst trying to ruin the best, the best.

Their promotion's so lame
They could never ever take it to the real ball game.
Maybe they think I'm a pet,
Well I've got all the diseases
I'm breaking out in sweat, you bet, because

I got, Mercury poisoning
It's fatal and it don't get better!
I got, Mercury poisoning
The best kept secret in the
we--est, hey the we--est.

The boys and me are getting real well known around town
But every time we try to spread the action
Someone always brings it down, down.
I ate the orange and I don't feel well
For them it's inconvenience for me it's hell.
The geriatric staff think we're freaks.
They couldn't sell kebabs to the Greeks, the geeks,
Inaction speaks, and

I got, Mercury poisoning
It's fatal and it don't get better!
I got, Mercury poisoning
The best kept secret in the
we--est, hey the we--est.

Is this a Russian conspiracy,
no it's just idiocy.
Is this a Chinese burn
I gotta dinosaur for a representative
It's got a small brain and it refuses to learn!

Their promotion's so lame
They could never ever take it to the real ball game.
Listen I ain't a pet,
I ain't a token hipster for your monopoly set
You bet because...

I got, Mercury poisoning
It's fatal and it don't get better!
I got, Mercury poisoning
The best kept secret in the
we--est, hey the we--est.


Now a triple live video treat from Graham Parker -- one original and two covers from the Mercury era: First, "Mercury Poisoning" from Japan in 1979... then "Hold Back The Night" from the BBC's "Top Of The Pops in 1977... and finally, "I Want You Back" (featuring some inaccurate voiceover in the beginning talking about Parker's first two albums "in 1969!").

Tower of Power -- "Only So Much Oil In The Ground" (1974)

In the early 70's, Warner Brothers/Reprise Records had a counterculture-spiked advertising/promotional campaign that they ran in magazines like National Lampoon and Rolling Stone promoting their lively roster of artists including from Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Wildman Fisher (!!), Norman Greenbaum, The Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and Tower of Power. Featuring Robert Crumb-inspired art, they offered a free promotional record to sample their artists. It's hard to forget that promotion, as it appeared regularly and was given out at record stores.

Then sometime in 1974, still in high school, I read a rave review of the new Tower of Power album, Urban Renewal, singling out "Only So Much Oil In The Ground" as perceptive, topical, and... uh, funky. Then everybody started talking about that song. Maybe I heard it once on the radio, I don't exactly remember -- Tower of Power was never embraced by radio, for some reason.

But this was the heyday of record album buying, where I absorbed rock critics in newspapers and magazines, and if they thought this was outstanding, I was going to spend my $5 or $6 a buy the record. And that album cover was not exactly a big fish hook to reel'em in, a demolished building is not a pretty sight.

The first thing that hit me when I put the album on was everything. That bulldozer horn section knocks you over from the very opening of "Only So Much Oil" and really doesn't stop. Horns, drums, bass, organ -- all cooking at the same time. Unlike, say, a typical pop record which actually builds, layering on more instruments and licks, these guys operated on full steam for nearly every song.

Why wasn't the band on the cover? You could see them on the back cover in a tightly cropped photo -- this ensemble was nearly all white boys playing in your face soul and funk. Only keyboardist Chester Thompson and singer Lenny Williams were black. This was the same year the Average White Band broke through with a similar concept on "Pick Up The Pieces" (and they were not on their album covers either), so you'd think TOP would get their radio play with less obstacles by this time. Nope, and this was two years before Wild Cherry would just make fun of the whole thing with the classic "Play That Funky Music (white boy)."

Ironically, with a topical leadoff single and a staggeringly timely cover, the rest of Urban Renewal was not going to be the next socially-conscious What's Going On. Heavily influenced by James Brown's horn jams (except with twice as many brass players!), TOP swooped and cut like daredevils through funky numbers, all musicians at the top of their game, much like Frank Zappa always had the cream of the crop. This was the Oakland, California sound, patented in their previous album, Back To Oakland.

Everything was complex... but it totally cooked. There were swooning ballads ("Willing To Learn," "It Can Never Be The Same," "I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To") and always the dizzying 6-minute instrumental jam (in this case, "Walking Up Hip Street"). Taking from the Motown tradition, they wrote lyrics based on old sayings, slogans, warnings, double entendres and metaphors -- "It's not the crime/It's if you get caught!" "Maybe it'll rub off!" "(To Say The Least) You're The Most."

To record a large group like this requires quite an engineering job and even on vinyl during those days, you couldn't help but be impressed by how these records sounded. Full of life, everything clear and crackling, giving the speakers the full workout.

The members of Tower of Power were always worshiped like musical gods, now in their 40th year. Co-founders Emilio Castillo, bassist Rocco Prestia and the professorial looking Stephen "Doc" Kupka always get the familiar screams and yells. David Garibaldi is known as one of the best funk and soul drummers anywhere (and I own his drum sample/loop disc "Tower of Funk"). Former saxophonist Lenny Pickett would do the wildest things on record and stage with that instrument, stoking the crowds into loud screams, shouts and whistles, and he would eventually leave to be in Saturday Night Live's house band. Trumpeter Greg Adams spent 25 years arranging the magical material until he left to release solo albums (and I own his loop/samples DVD, "Greg Adams Big Band Brass" -- check out the cool music on his web site).

The band has been through more lead singers than Spinal Tap has with drummers. Old school TOP fans still think Lenny Williams was the best of the long line, some of whom sounded eerily like the man himself.

I've seen them live half a dozen times and if you think they're a party on record, then you haven't seen nothing yet. A TOP concert is a bring down the house experience, with more people playing "air horns" and "air drums" than any other act I can think of.

I do have to give a tip of the hat to my friend down the hall at SUNY at Buffalo during freshman year, Doug Alpern, for coming armed to school with more TOP albums and opening the whole scene to me.

So here they are, live from the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006, is Tower of Power knocking everybody out with "Only So Much Oil In The Ground," which still seems to be a timely message today.

Hipsway -- "The Honeythief" (1986)

After spotting this CD secretly stashed in my friend's collection last night, I have decided to honor this prototypical New Wave one hit wonder single.

With the British taking American black soul styles and churning them back out for numerous New Wave hits (i.e. Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, etc.), Hipsway snuck in there at the end of the era for this dark white funk hit.

As a matter of fact, Hipsway remind me of Duran Duran for their clipped lyrics and sustained, snakey lead vocals. Besides all the catchiness and danceability in a mere 3 minutes and 15 seconds, the song's aura definitely comes from Grahame Skinner's deep menacing baritone lead vocals. When you are oozing out a song about the not-very-subtle "honeythief" of the title, that kind of tone is enough to excite all the girls who were listening in!

Sleek big cat, bible black
Honeysuckle I would never deny

The light of deep regret
Let me see what I don't get
The light of deep regret
Let me see what I don't get

Pass through the heat
Come on, come on and pass
Through the heat
Catch a thief, a honeythief
I am a thief, a honeythief

That's the price you pay
When love gets in the way
Stealth in the night
I come to steal with stealth
In the night
You got the sugar to satisfy
I am the man you can never deny

They sure knew had to make great singles in those days. The whooshing organ that comes out of nowhere for the middle break, the black background singers on the chorus, and that funky guitar line that rips off Spandau Ballet's "Chant No. 1."

But Hipsway was more than that one single. Like my friend, I also have that debut album which contained terrific singles that made it far bigger in the UK than the US, like "Broken Years" and the even more menacing "Ask The Lord."

In the official video, there's some vaguely weird about the African native clips cut in with the band performing and Skinner's strutting around.

Wild Cherry -- "Play That Funky Music" (1976)

The absolutely greatest one hit wonder party song of all time.

This one is absolutely tough to beat. "Play That Funky Music" was the song that when put on the stereo system at any party virtually guaranteed the place would go nuts. I don't know how many times I strategically placed this song on party tapes in the early to mid 80's for maximum impact. From Kew Gardens and Forest Hills to Fire Island, have song, will travel.

In the second half of my freshman college year, this song was unstoppable. It was the ultimate in-joke: the band being order to "play that funky music, white boy," that it was OK for white people to listen and dance to funk and disco (which for more subtler reasons implied that funk and disco were normally not associated with white people -- aha!).

Despite its noteriety as one hit wonder, at this critical cultural junction when disco was barging its way in, this was the most overt invitation for white rock and roll fans to drop the pretenses and dig the funky groove.

Of course, if you were repulsed by disco (and that included me), hearing a bunch of white guys sing about the glories of disco music in such a tongue in cheek way, accompanied by nothing less than a searingly wild electric guitar solo, your first thought may have been: "Heresy!"

But in what you might call "a self-fulfilling prophesy," the song was just too powerful for anybody, no matter what race, to resist its rascally charm, insanely funky distorted guitar lick, thumping drum beat, and the maniacal singing of Rob Parissi. In the pre-chorus, when he shouts "somebody turned around and shouted," the dance floor crowd literally turned around in a 360 degree circle in place. And believe me, everybody was screaming "Play that funky music, white boy!"

There was a funky singer
Playin' in a rock and roll band.
And never had no problems yeah
Burnin' down one night stands.
And everything around me,
Got to stop to feelin' so low.
And I decided quickly (yes I did),
To disco down and check out the show.

Yeah they was
Dancin' and singin'
and movin' to the groovin'
And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted
Play that funky music white boy.
Play that funky music right.
Play that funky music white boy.
Lay down that boogie and play that funky music till you die.
Till you die, oh till you die

Hey wait a minute
Now first it wasn't easy
Changin' rock and roll and minds.
And things were getting shaky
I thought I'd have to leave it behind.
But now it's so much better (it's so much better)
I'm funking out in every way.
But I'll never lose that feelin' (no I won't)
Of how I learned my lesson that day.

When they were
Dancin' and singin'
and movin' to the groovin'
And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted
Play that funky music white boy.
Play that funky music right.
Play that funky music white boy.
Lay down that boogie and play that funky music till you die. (Till you die!)


Playing "Play That Funky Music" is unacceptable at any party unless it is the full four and a half minute version, where you not only get the extra verse, but the song climaxes with a few repeats of the "play that funky music" line with big rousing choruses and that classic cowbell and then it just lifts up one key higher, and nirvana is reached. Talk about perfect timing!

The first time I saw Wild Cherry was in this video below from the TV show "Midnight Special," and I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do. Smack out of the 70's fashion handbook, there are the barechested musicians, nice 'fros, and the only two black guys in the band -- the horn players! I was surprised to see them playing Gibson guitars (or maybe I should not have been), as Gibsons have a heavier thicker tone more closely associated with rock than funk and disco. But after all, these were reformed rock and rollers "funkin' out in every way."

Boz Scaggs -- "Miss Sun" (1981)

Silk Degrees was just a magical album where the merging of Boz Scaggs and the songwriting/musicianship of the rock band Toto shook this obscure blues singer out of anonymity and turned him into the blue-eyes soul boy of the 70's, selling albums by the truckload.

For some reason, with each successive album, he switched collaborators and producers -- first with Down Two Then Left (Michael Omartian) and then Middle Man (David Foster). While both of those albums were vastly underrated yet still very fine, they didn't sell anywhere near the exalted Silk Degrees.

For his first greatest hits album, trying to ensure a single that would put him back on top, he went back to the Toto well -- specifically keyboardist David Paich -- and delivered a smash that sounded less like Silk Degrees and more like, well, Toto with soul.

"Miss Sun" had a funky edge, a groovin' fat synth bass, a smoky B-3 organ, a brief bluesy Wurlitzer electric piano solo, and a spotlight on one of the background singers for the song's lengthy mostly instrumental conclusion. If the song was on Silk Degrees, it probably would have had live electric bass and a dominant string arrangement, but this sounded a little more raw and live. It ramps up a few keys towards the end, almost sounding like the opening build-up of Rufus' "Once You Get Started," synth horns slamming hard.

You can tell the song is Paich-style all the way, if you've listened through to Silk Degrees or early Toto albums -- the clever use of minor chords to transition into different keys in the chorus, and verses that almost sound like they shouldn't work, but they do. What do I mean by that? Paich's chords "strain" to connect, and somehow they do, it's a vibe thing, and that's the best way I can describe it.


Been thinkin' 'bout you all night
Guess you got me in your spell
But I think that I'll be all right
Even if I don't get well

Hey, Miss Sun
What could I say
I tried to hold you
but the moon got in the way
It won't be long before the morning
Has you back in my arms

I can still remember
What you told me with your eyes
One kiss
Now it's down to this
Guess it's time you realize

Hey, Miss Sun
What could I say
I tried to hold you
But the moon got in the way
It won't be long before the morning
Has you back in my arms
Has you back in my arms


Here's Boz and his band performing "Miss Sun" live in 1985 in Japan, a country where he has never lost his great popularity. Notice the smoke coming out of his mouth when he's singing -- perhaps a chilly night?

Daryl Hall & John Oates -- "She's Gone" (1973)

When I saw Daryl Hall and John Oates perform in concert over a year ago at SUNY Purchase, it was then that I realized how unbelievably successful these two artists were in the 70's and 80's. They performed for over 90 minutes and believe me when I say that they could have done several more of their greatest hits no problem. Some artists can fill a greatest hits album with several songs... these guys can do a double album easily.

In 1975, I entered the dorms at SUNY Buffalo with a cast of characters from all over the state, everybody bringing their own musical taste blasting from their phonographs. One of the freshmen on my wing, Paul, began dating a sophomore named Elyse, who was absolutely obsessed with Hall and Oates, whom I had never heard of. She played the "silver" album repeatedly, which had the duo in glam feminine makeup, which dogged their reputation for years (see right). When "Sara Smile" broke out as a hit, their old record company Atlantic re-released the single "She's Gone" from their Abandoned Luncheonette album to capitalize on that success, and it followed right up the charts.

Back in the earlier RCA days, Hall & Oates were bouncing back and forth between folk rock ("When The Morning Comes," "Las Vegas Turnaround") and some of the blue-eyed soul that would blossom later on. Abandoned Luncheonette, produced by recording legend Arif Mardin, had an artsy existential-looking cover, nothing that conveyed the real slickness that brought these guys fame, but it was the favorite of many fans. Although Hall and Oates took over the production duties for all of their future albums, Mardin was an inspired choice, having overseen The Rascals (another group of black-music fixated white boys), Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, and Dusty Springfield earlier.

Daryl Hall was the talkative, good looking blond guy who sang the majority of the lead vocals and played keyboards. When I saw him perform in 2006, let's just say he was pretty well preserved. John Oates always had a great, more throaty rock kind of voice, bore the trademark mustache, but he remained much quieter as a stage presence and interviewee, swaying off to the side on his rhythm guitar.

"She's Gone," as with a number of their other future hits, would be reminiscent of the Philly soul hitting its zenith right about the time it came out. Along with San Francisco's Boz Scaggs, it must have seemed quite unusual to see prominent white guys cop off this distinct slick black style of music. Based on a simple major two-chord motif with a steady bass note in the verses, "She's Gone" has the classic twangy wah-wah guitar chords, Mardin-arranged strings that climb into the choruses, a big fat thumping electric bass, and the kind of descending chord pattern in the chorus that Philly soul hits were made of. As a musician/composer, I was very into that simple two-chord verse pattern and the way Hall and Oates used the tension of those root notes. Looking back at their catalog, those two were tremendously talented composers.


Everybody's high on consolation
Everybody's trying to tell me what is right for me, yeah
My daddy tried to bore me with a sermon
But it's plain to see that they can't comfort me

Sorry Charlie for the imposition
I think I've got it, I got the strength to carry on, yeah
I need a drink and a quick decision
Now it's up to me, ooh what will be?

She's gone she's gone
Oh why? Oh why?
I better learn how to face it
She's gone She's gone
Oh why? Oh why?
I'd pay the devil to replace her
She's gone She's gone
Oh why? Oh why?
What went wrong?

Get up in the morning, look in the mirror
One less toothbrush hanging in the stand
My face ain't looking any younger
Now I can see love's taken a toll on me


While a three-and-a-half minute single was edited for Top 40 radio, they cut out much of the good stuff from the full 5:15 version. Some of the song's little and big highlights for me: the 1-2 knocked claves in the song's opening, the repeated "got it, got it" in the second verse, the short soprano sax solo that slides in at the end of the second chorus, and most definitely the huge break towards the end when the song goes up three half keys, the strings and horns powering it up each step along with a sharp electric guitar lead and the bass rolling upwards each time.

Here's Hall and Oates and their band performing "She's Gone" live in 1976 on the great UK program "Old Grey Whistle Test."

The Beastie Boys -- "Fight For Your Right" (1986)

This is a rap song that even a rock and roller could love.

Coming out of the early Rick Rubin/Def Jam era, when Rubin was sampling some of classic rock's greatest artists for rap tunes (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath), this song, in many ways, was a stroke of genius.

Every young white boy likes a good party song that is loud, obnoxious and you could sing along to like an anthem. "Fight For Your Right" had those three qualities in spades. Throw in the age-old "your parents suck" sentiment, a little porn mention, overdriven guitar riffs and some good old tongue-in-cheek subversiveness and you've got every ingredient for a hit. Except the lyrics are rapped, or should I say, shouted!

So it was no wonder that this song was a no-brainer as my summer Fire Island house anthem in 1987. Please -- silly single white boys from Manhattan, Long Island and Queens spending every weekend in a non-stop happy hour and looking for potential girlfriends?

While Run-DMC recruited the actual Aerosmith band to blend rock and rap, Rubin did the job himself in what can best be described as one cheesy rock production. There are no dynamics in the simple kick, snare and ride cymbal loop (the ride is the giveaway, as it sounds like it's hit at the exact same velocity throughout the song). The meathead three-chord riff mimic the first three notes of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water." The song's biggest letdown is the solo (once dubbed by Guitar World as one of rock's worst), which you are anticipating some crazy stuff for air guitar nirvana, and it basically sputters from the beginning. I guess Rubin just knew chords!


You wake up late for school man you don't wanna go,
You ask your mom "please?" but she still says "NO!"
You miss two classes and no homework
but your teacher preaches class like your some kind of jerk

You gotta fight, for your right,
to paaaaaaaaaarty!

Your pops caught you smokin' man he said "NO WAY!"
That hypocrite smokes two packs a day!
Man, living at home is such a drag
Now your mom threw away your best porno mag.

You gotta fight, for your right,
to paaaaaaaaaarty!

Don't step outta this house if that's the clothes you're gonna wear!!!!
I'll kick you outta my home if you dont CUT THAT HAIR!!
Your mom busted in and said "WHAT'S THAT NOISE!?!?"
Aww, mom your just jealous it's The Beastie Boys!


For a cheesy rock/rap classic, you need an equally cheesy video, this one costing a reputed $20,000. It gave the three Beastie Boys a terrific excuse to basically strut into a living room, turn a nerd party upside down, hit on the girls, spike the punch, throw custard pies, let their degenerate friends in, and make a mess.

Spandau Ballet -- "Gold" (1983)

I guess after posting about ABC, it reminded me of the other band that could have been their close cousins, Spandau Ballet. More white English boys playing black-influenced music, feathered hair, a saxophonist, live drummers, and banging 12" remixes.

However, they differed in a few respects. While ABC's Martin Fry always seemed to have a wink in his eye and relish his cleverness, Spandau Ballet's lead vocalist Tony Hadley would rather croon in his powerful baritone. Fry masterminded ABC, while the engine behind Spandau Ballet were the Kemp brothers, guitarist Gary and bassist Martin. ABC employed strings and brass, while Spandau Ballet filled out with synths and jazzier motifs.

Over the arc of both careers, I found Spandau Ballet was as consistent as ABC. While ABC's second album, Beauty Stab, was a disappointing flop, they got right back up again and reinvented their sound for How To Be A Millionaire. Spandau Ballet never replicated the success of the album True (and its title song), their following album Parade was practically a sequel, fairly close in quality.

At first, Spandau Ballet were pretty much a UK sensation, the poster boys for the New Romantic movement, which I guess was another way of saying handsome English white guys making black-influenced dance music. The single "Chant No. 1 (Don't Need This Pressure On" was strictly a hit in New Wave UK and American clubs, a bit rough and crude, yet a catchy chorus.

However, they fell in with the production team of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, who really polished up their music, added a punchy compression to their mix, and upped their songwriting game, and that made all the difference. The album True was an international success, mostly on the the back of the title song, a six-minute New Wave ballad. When the song was a hit, I was assisting in Arista Records' A&R department on West 57th Street, often pointing out to the staff that the lyrics made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Then again, a lot of Spandau Ballet lyrics are a bit obtuse.

Fortunately, "True" was the last song on a rather great album, full of tunes that rivaled any Duran Duran album at the time. Rising to the top was "Gold," which never quite became a hit here in the US, but was notable for having that one syllable hook of the title word ("Gold!"), hitting right on a jazzy minor ninth chord for it.

With the song starting with just keyboards, Hadley whips out the croon right away, holding that last note of "tall":


Thank you for coming home
I'm sorry that the chairs are all worn
I left them here I could have sworn
these are my salad days
slowly being eaten away
just another play for today
oh but I'm proud of you,but I'm proud of you
there's nothing left to make me feel small
luck has left me standing so tall-l-l-l-l-l-l.


The give and take between Hadley, and the Kemp brothers' whispery coo's and echoes, with intensely ascending chords made for an exciting "building" effect. Jolley and Swain loved covering all the vocals in a wonderful warm reverb. A prominent Yamaha electric piano rolls chords and doubles the melody, even echoing the chorus later in the song. Tuned bongos synched up just before the second verse. Jolley and Swain paid particular attention to separating all the instruments, giving the kick and snare a deep punch that you can even hear in the video below.

All the little things of this song worked: Hadley's dramatic rush into the word "Gold" while the Kemps hit it right on the downbeat, the weirdly off piano notes during the opening verse, squeezing the word "indestructible" into the chorus, the piano glissando just before the final chorus, and the minor chord motif that underlines the last few bars.

When I see this video, I wonder what happened to Tony Hadley. He seems capable of pulling off a Rod Stewart and singing "the great American song book" and other classics to extend his career. Several years after True, the Kemps took a shot at acting and played the title characters in the brutal British gangster film "The Krays."

Another ABC similarity: an album full of amazing 12" extended remixes. The "Gold" remix is also my favorite, a true tour de force that starts very mellow and jazzy for about a minute, then pounds in with the drums, tuned bongos and the whole shebang. It is almost like an overture leading up to Hadley's vocals, which drop in about three or four minutes into the mix.

SPANDAU BALLET - "GOLD" (LIVE)

ABC -- "Poison Arrow" (1982)

When punk rock burst onto the scene in the mid to late 70's, they took their cues from 60's garage rock and 50's twangin' rock and roll. With that, the floodgates opened and the New Wave movement spewed forth all kinds of innovative bands which distinctly borrowed other American genres.

The one genre the English music acts revered the most was American soul music and R&B. There was a sudden rush of interest in Motown, fueled with the 1983 "Motown 25" NBC-TV special, where Michael Jackson moonwalked across the stage to "Billy Jean." Phil Collins covered "You Can't Hurry Love," Soft Cell merged "Tainted Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go?" Kim Wilde discoed through "You Keep Me Hanging On." The Jam lifted a Motown groove for "A Town Called Malice."

The one English act that took the whole phenomenon through the roof was ABC, who had the good fortune to team with "let's make it big baby" producer Trevor Horn and create their landmark debut. Mining all kinds of soul styles, ABC paired oh-too-clever lyrics with bright shiny production values, swirling strings, popping horns, thumb-pulled bass licks, and a nice dose of theater.

Singer Martin Fry was the perfect lead vehicle, his not-subdued English accent actually sounding more compelling than any tabloid reporter. He and the band dressed up to the nines, and each song was going to be a performance, inviting all to dance no matter what your day gig was.

"Poison Arrow" still remains my favorite ABC song, just a notch over "The Look Of Love," probably because there's this weird tongue in cheek attitude, like Martin is just winking at the audience, crying his heart out to the disco beat, but you hear the hiss in his voice:

If I were to say to you "Can you keep a secret?"
Would you know just what to do or where to keep it?
Then I say"I love you" and foul the situation
Hey girl I thought we were the right combination.

Who broke my heart?
You did, you did
Bow to the target,
Blame cupid, cupid
You think you're smart
Stupid, stupid.


Then into the chorus, Fry raising it up to a falsetto, laying on the guilt, and you can truly picture Cupid shooting this poor sap down:

Shoot that poison arrow to my hear-r-r-rt
Shoot that poison arrow
Shoot that poison arrow to my hear-r-r-rt
Shoot that poison arrow


As with many Trevor Horn productions, the arrangement are impeccable. Three deep piano notes lead into a pulsing 16th-note hi hat, claps and barreling kick, a floating sax, and then the funky bass climbing to a peak and boom, right into the R&B groove of the song. It's the kitchen sink of soul -- xylophone, more sax, heated congas. Fry doesn't even begin singing until about 35 seconds into the song, which is a mere 3:24.

Later, the song takes its break, most instruments falling away to the piano and drums, where Martin has his little conversation with the heartbreaker:

He: "I thought you loved me but it seems you don't care."

She: "I care enough to know I can never love you."

With not even a second to breathe, a huge loud electronic drum fill comes takes up all the space, and then the final choruses.

This time in music also featured many classic 12" extended remixes of New Wave songs, another lift from the disco era. In the case of "Poison Arrow," there had to be at least a few, and for The Lexicon of Love, it seemed every song had at least two. There was even one 12" disc that featured an orchestra performing an overture of all the album songs. These were fantastic records, and there is a British import of all of them on one CD.

Below are two fun and kinda cheesy videos and then a real treat: the first is the official song video, which features "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and its Cupid character whipping off one of those arrows, and even more importantly, ABC itself in all its tuxedo and gold lame suit glory. The second is ABC doing their lip-synch of the ever popular British TV show "Top of the Pops." As always, half the fun is watching how the musicians goof around to the recording they have to play to, and in this case, the ridiculous upright attempting to copy the funky electric bass of the recording is the notable culprit. And the third is a kindly posted video of the 7-minute remix of "Poison Arrow."

Rare Earth -- "Get Ready" (1970)

As time goes on, it seems appreciation for some of the great Motown artists is fading. Not only did Rare Earth have a phenomenal run of hits in 1970 and 1971, but ten years later, I remember playing them at parties and getting a huge reaction. I wonder if that would happen now?

Rare Earth was the first "rock" band signed by Motown, although that label is a misnomer. Just like Santana, Rare Earth combined rock with other genres, but the emphasis here was definitely on 70's funk and jazz. Motown even gave their label the Rare Earth name to emphasize rock acts (or white boys, who knows?).

Look at that album cover and you're not thinking rock band at all. They are so clean cut behind that gauzy lens, you would think they were some pop vocal act singing Paul Anka covers.

Don't judge this book by its cover. These guys totally cooked. Exhibit A is the 21 minute cover version of The Temptations' "Get Ready" that takes up side two of this first Motown album. Rumored to not have enough material, they performed what was their usual final jam from their live show. When the song was released as a single, it was drastically edited down to three minutes or so and became a true smash hit. I think it did even better than the Temptations version (which was released in 1966 and written by Smokey Robinson).

On both the album and single versions, there's a lot of audience noise, screaming and whistling, but I was never quite sure if that was real. I don't believe the album mentions a live venue location, which probably means it was dubbed on.

Motown was constantly recycling its own song catalog for its artists. Even if a song flopped, they'd reuse it with at least another artist to see if it would fly right this time. For example, both "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Ain't Mountain High Enough" were huge hits twice for different Motown artists. Rare Earth had success with two Temptations hits -- "Get Ready" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You" -- by radically re-arranging the songs.

One of the cooler things about Rare Earth is that the drummer, Pete Rivera, was also the lead singer, and you can see him doing both simultaneously in the early 70's video below. Rivera had a very deep soulful voice that was immediately commanding and irreplaceable when he left the band in 1975.

Below are three videos of "Get Ready." The first is the 45 being played on a turntable, so you can here how this epic jam session was cut down to three minutes of party time soul/rock.

The second is Rare Earth performing the song live in 1973, now with an additional Latino percussionist, firing up a storm as electric as any early Santana show. I'm knocked out by Rivera, who is totally zoned in to his drumming with his eyes closed, singing at the same time, completely getting into the sweaty groove.

Boy, I would have loved to have seen these guys in concert back then. You have to love the days when popular rock acts would perform with their shirts off, like the keyboardist does here (and seems to in just about every Rare Earth video I've found), while Rivera is all muscle shirt. And I'm just digging that whole crowd dancing to the song.

The third is a knockout black and white clip of The Temptations performing "Get Ready" in 1966. Check out the Temps' dance moves, Eddie Kendricks singing lead, and the girls going crazy in the upper part of the stage.

As far as I'm concerned, these last two videos are mandatory viewing.